Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is calling for Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to testify before Congress regarding his alleged phone calls with Chinese military officials in the lame-duck period of the Trump administration.
In an interview with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck, Paul spouted off about Milley’s possible misconduct.
“I think Gen. Milley is the most pressing problem of the moment,” he said. “We can’t have generals talking to foreign countries and saying ‘Hey we think our president might bomb you so be prepared, I’m gonna try to stop him.’ That might actually cause an accidental war.”
“Think about it: We have different things that are launched into space all the time. Satellites, this and that, and they can be misinterpreted as a missile. If they were, we call each other and say, ‘No that’s a satellite, not a missile.’
“But what if a general has just called the Chinese dictator and said, ‘Our president is going to probably launch, I’ll try and stop him, but we think he might launch an attack.’ They might interpret a satellite, some kind of launch into space, as a missile, and all of a sudden you have a nuclear war going on. It’s incredibly dangerous.”
Paul then correctly pointed out the serious ethical concerns of Milley allegedly working behind the back of the then-commander in chief, and demanded the general speak to Congress.
“We have a chain of command. Not to mention that we have elections. Presidents are elected. Milley wasn’t elected to be president,” Paul said. “I can’t even tell you how, how incredibly dangerous this is. He needs to be called in today and asked under polygraph what he said to the Chinese president or to his counterpart in China, and did he get permission to do so?
“Gen. Milley needs to be called in TODAY and asked under polygraph what he said to China.”
Sen. @RandPaul tells me why he believes Milley’s alleged actions could have “caused an accidental war.” pic.twitter.com/81YadLJbbv
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) September 15, 2021
According to the new book, “Peril,” by The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Milley allegedly contacted China on several occasions between October 2020 and January 2021, Reuters reported.
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Milley reportedly reached out to China’s People’s Liberation Army Gen. Li Zuocheng on Oct. 30 and Jan. 8 to say the U.S. was not going to attack, but he would let him know ahead of time if former President Donald Trump decided to strike.
Milley’s actions, if true, could be seen as treason, even if his intention was to stop any bloodshed.
Trump said in a statement that if the story turns out to be accurate, he believes Milley should be held accountable for his actions.
“If the story of ‘Dumba**’ General Mark Milley, the same failed leader who engineered the worst withdrawal from a country, Afghanistan, in U.S. history, leaving behind many dead and wounded soldiers, many American citizens, and $85 Billion worth of the newest and most sophisticated Military equipment in the world, and our Country’s reputation, is true, then I assume he would be tried for TREASON in that he would have been dealing with his Chinese counterpart behind the President’s back and telling China that he would be giving them notification ‘of an attack.’ Can’t do that!” Trump said.
Several Republican lawmakers have called on the general to step down or be dismissed from his role, but President Joe Biden is still standing by him.
?? Sen. Rubio calls for dismissal of General Milley pic.twitter.com/bBUbZATa3C
— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) September 15, 2021
“I have great confidence in Gen. Milley,” Biden said Wednesday when asked if Milley “did the right thing.”
MOMENTS AGO: Pres. Biden says “I have great confidence in General Milley.” pic.twitter.com/eh1GgS3vOB
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 15, 2021
The Pentagon is remaining cryptic about the report, with spokesman John Kirby saying he could not “speak to the validity” of the allegations, and, based on what he read, saw nothing that would “cause any concern.”
NEW: Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby on allegations Gen. Mark Milley circumvented Trump:
“I can’t speak to the validity. But I see nothing in what I’ve read that would cause any concern.” pic.twitter.com/TedGhw2SeS
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 15, 2021
Paul was correct to want answers, and there should be bipartisan support to investigate what the Chinese government was potentially told.
Milley is the highest-ranking military official in the U.S., which makes it deeply concerning that there would be any doubt in his ability to faithfully serve our country.
While it is unlikely that he will resign or be fired, Congress needs to look closely at these allegations.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.